Has anybody noticed that people are acctually donating their old Christmas trees to Thrift Stores/Goodwill? These aren't the fake trees that you can use next Christmas, but actual real ones. Not only can they not take these, but they have to pay to have someone get rid of them.

#4
freeorelse
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Has anybody noticed that people are acctually donating their old Christmas trees to Thrift Stores/Goodwill? These aren't the fake trees that you can use next Christmas, but actual real ones. Not only can they not take these, but they have to pay to have someone get rid of them.

But otherwise no finds for me.

Thats worse than the fools who pile up their pissed on rotten mattresses outside the Goodwill or its equal. The Thrift Charity Store closest to me said they ran 16 dumptruck loads of pure garbage after Christmas "donations". Makes me want to smack somebody.

Damn right. After all, why should I have to shit stain my undies when I could buy them pre stained.

Thats worse than the fools who pile up their pissed on rotten mattresses outside the Goodwill or its equal. The Thrift Charity Store closest to me said they ran 16 dumptruck loads of pure garbage after Christmas "donations". Makes me want to smack somebody.

When you typically see near MSRP prices for the used, shit stained clothes and furniture at more than one Salvation Army or Goodwill, then it makes you want to NOT donate anything at all.

I understand they have employees and other bills to pay for running the stores, but when I could buy the same item brand new for just a few dollars more than the local 'thrift' store is charging I wanna just find their manager and smack the motherfucker.

Apparently somewhere along the line these 'thrift' stores have forgotten the meaning of the word THRIFT.

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If I didn't have a few game finds there and if I didn't find a Strawberry shortcake doll in box that I flipped for $80 on ebay then I wouldn't donate either, but since I have been finding stuff, I donate my unwanted stuff. Of course I try to find someone who will take the stuff first and use it but if all else fails I dump it at the SA. Trust me I am not donating anything of value.

The odd stuff about our thrift's is they charge MSRP or more for clothing, but the toys and games and stuff, are REALLY cheap. I mean they had some atari games and the lady actually marked them 50% off for me, and I only bought about $7 worth of stuff. The neogeo pocket color games I bought were 25 cents each marked down from 50 cents. I have never seen a thrift mark down prices on the spot here before but it was done that day.

I think its really odd that they charge 5.99 or more for jeans, yet they charge really cheap prices for toys and stuff, because clothing are the things people really need, but they charge more for them. They also charge outrageous prices for coats (again an item that someone might really need to keep warm because they don't have one). I can buy a coat at TJ Maxx or Marshall's for less than what a used and filthy one costs at the SA. Ironically there is a TJ Maxx within walking distance of one of the SA's here, and that location happens to have the best selection of coats in the area.

I am not particularly crazy that they were pulling harry potter and twilight toys from the donation bins (read an article about this) and destroying them though because those toys were not in the interests of the organization's beliefs. These are toys that someone could be using and that get handed out by other organizations around Christmas time.

To the person who wrote about the hipster guy in the other thread, I am not sure what it is with people thinking they can make random comments at me (and others) in public these days, the other day I was trying on boots in a store and a woman walked by me and said "oh those are SO UGLY" as if I think anything of a random person's opinion on my fashion taste. Has our society gotten so low that people have to run around and belittle others in public?

BTW, this is actually slightly off topic, but it reminded me about it when the Harry Potter / Twilight Toys were mentioned. Some guy from Toys for Tots came on the radio a few weeks before Christmas, asking for toy donations. And he mentioned that it's better if you give them cash, because $20 will buy them $40 worth of toys, and save you the trouble of actually standing in line.

And I've never seen people donate live trees to Good Will... I thought most cities had special trash pick up for trees. But people are too lazy to look, I guess. Like everyone who just dumps cooking oil down the drain.

If I didn't have a few game finds there and if I didn't find a Strawberry shortcake doll in box that I flipped for $80 on ebay then I wouldn't donate either, but since I have been finding stuff, I donate my unwanted stuff. Of course I try to find someone who will take the stuff first and use it but if all else fails I dump it at the SA. Trust me I am not donating anything of value.

The odd stuff about our thrift's is they charge MSRP or more for clothing, but the toys and games and stuff, are REALLY cheap. I mean they had some atari games and the lady actually marked them 50% off for me, and I only bought about $7 worth of stuff. The neogeo pocket color games I bought were 25 cents each marked down from 50 cents. I have never seen a thrift mark down prices on the spot here before but it was done that day.

I think its really odd that they charge 5.99 or more for jeans, yet they charge really cheap prices for toys and stuff, because clothing are the things people really need, but they charge more for them. They also charge outrageous prices for coats (again an item that someone might really need to keep warm because they don't have one). I can buy a coat at TJ Maxx or Marshall's for less than what a used and filthy one costs at the SA. Ironically there is a TJ Maxx within walking distance of one of the SA's here, and that location happens to have the best selection of coats in the area.

I am not particularly crazy that they were pulling harry potter and twilight toys from the donation bins (read an article about this) and destroying them though because those toys were not in the interests of the organization's beliefs. These are toys that someone could be using and that get handed out by other organizations around Christmas time.

To the person who wrote about the hipster guy in the other thread, I am not sure what it is with people thinking they can make random comments at me (and others) in public these days, the other day I was trying on boots in a store and a woman walked by me and said "oh those are SO UGLY" as if I think anything of a random person's opinion on my fashion taste. Has our society gotten so low that people have to run around and belittle others in public?

I think the function of the thrift store has gotten screwed up in recent years--with the economic issues in the US you have resellers on the prowl until there's nothing but crap left, and then almost by design you have store managers marking up the goods and turning to the internet to maximize the profits on something the store received for free.

I think the function of the thrift store has gotten screwed up in recent years--with the economic issues in the US you have resellers on the prowl until there's nothing but crap left, and then almost by design you have store managers marking up the goods and turning to the internet to maximize the profits on something the store received for free.

It makes me wonder if some of these stores really are non-profit...

It makes me wonder too. They charge at least $4 for most old school games, which still isn't too bad, but I groan when I see many in this thread saying they got X and Y games for $.99 each.

And yourlefthand just reminded me I picked up a Sirius tuner a while ago from GW for $5 and stopped trying to check to see if it still had an active subscription on it or not. I went looking for a cheap antenna/ house kit for it for a while to no avail, since I figured that'd be the cheapest way to check it. I'll probably end up re-donating it.

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It makes me wonder too. They charge at least $4 for most old school games, which still isn't too bad, but I groan when I see many in this thread saying they got X and Y games for $.99 each.

It really depends on stores/areas/etc. And as much as I get annoyed when I see my Salvation Army have original XBox games marked $5.75 (even though it's going to charity and I get carts almost always for .75-$1.75) I always remind myself that the stuff very seldom lasts a week or two in there so someone's happy buying it at that price.

Oh and as for trees, that type of stuff sucks. Luckily, we have a place here where you can dump them off and they ground it into mulch, which you can then go pick up for free. Still, people are idiots/assholes. One time my dad and I went someone dumped off varnished cabinets with screws and metal handles still attached.

My favorite Goodwill has random pricing. PS1 games can range from 0.47 to 2.97, depending on the "batch" that was put out. PS2 and Xbox games can be from 2.97 to 6.97 no matter if its a sports title or more desirable game.

But like pyoobez wrote, stuff sells at even the ridiculous prices, so it's just sour grapes on my part.

I don't think it's true about the for profit thing. What happens is that they price everything based on what it is, like $3 for a hardback, $3 for a cd, $5 for a dvd, etc. Of course, there will always be stuff worth more and less than those generic prices. If they were for profit, then they would have checks market price for every item.

One store had the annoying scheme of $1.99 per disc, cause I guess the manager felt clever. It meant I bought Breath of Fire 3 for $2, while Final Fantasy 8 was like $8.

I don't think it's true about the for profit thing. What happens is that they price everything based on what it is, like $3 for a hardback, $3 for a cd, $5 for a dvd, etc. Of course, there will always be stuff worth more and less than those generic prices. If they were for profit, then they would have checks market price for every item.

One store had the annoying scheme of $1.99 per disc, cause I guess the manager felt clever. It meant I bought Breath of Fire 3 for $2, while Final Fantasy 8 was like $8.

I think the function of the thrift store has gotten screwed up in recent years--with the economic issues in the US you have resellers on the prowl until there's nothing but crap left, and then almost by design you have store managers marking up the goods and turning to the internet to maximize the profits on something the store received for free.

It makes me wonder if some of these stores really are non-profit...

Every time I get a flip from the SA it is purely by chance, I don't go hunting daily or even weekly, I just stop in whenever I am in the area which is usually less than once a month. If I see something that I know I can make a buck on, then I am gonna pick it up (just like everyone else would). It actually takes a lot of effort to make a buck, for the doll I sold for $80 I had to store it for a year before the price went up and it was quite a large item too. It was only worth the $2 I paid for it on ebay at the time I bought it. Almost nothing is an "instant" flip, you usually have to wait till the market surges in order to get money out of stuff.

The ebay craze has died down, so you don't have people running around greedy eyed and thinking they are going to make money off any old pieces of junk cleaning out the thrifts like there used to be around 2002 or so when everyone was all about selling on ebay. Its also harder than ever to sell on ebay, a lot of people don't even have the means to set up a paypal account, which is required to sell on ebay. There is still Craigslist but the local market is crap, with people only willing to buy stuff for the lowest of prices.

The best donations obviously go to the managers and probably not even the staff, because I am sure the managers get the best stuff. Though that doesn't explain the crapload of video game stuff that recently appeared at my SA so obviously what is good is in the eye of the beholder. The only explanation I can think of is one of the scummy pawn shops realized they couldn't get any money for it around here (since no one around here will buy older games) and dumped it all at the SA. I can't imagine who in my area would have donated a neo geo pocket color, a rather obscure video game system especially in nearly perfect condition.

The economic issues also lead to thrift stores filled with donations from foreclosed homes, more than what the store can actually hold. If you happen to live in one of the foreclosure belts and you have enough money to buy stuff at a thrift (and you haven't been foreclosed upon yourself) you are in for some pretty darn good finds from what I hear.

If I didn't have a few game finds there and if I didn't find a Strawberry shortcake doll in box that I flipped for $80 on ebay then I wouldn't donate either, but since I have been finding stuff, I donate my unwanted stuff. Of course I try to find someone who will take the stuff first and use it but if all else fails I dump it at the SA. Trust me I am not donating anything of value.

It makes me wonder too. They charge at least $4 for most old school games, which still isn't too bad, but I groan when I see many in this thread saying they got X and Y games for $.99 each.

And yourlefthand just reminded me I picked up a Sirius tuner a while ago from GW for $5 and stopped trying to check to see if it still had an active subscription on it or not. I went looking for a cheap antenna/ house kit for it for a while to no avail, since I figured that'd be the cheapest way to check it. I'll probably end up re-donating it.

For certain titles it makes sense to use the cost of shipping as a baseline, but there's one store down the street from me which has a glass case triple-stacked with sports games and other D-minus PC fodder. You'd think they would blow some of that stuff out at $1-2 each just to make some room

The Berrykins are extremely expensive, regardless of what type of merchandise you find based on them. I had some Berrykins stickers that I purchased at a store that was going out of business for 25 cents a pack and they sold for around $70 a sheet each a few years ago.

Not the best finds, but so far I have bought Two Sega Genesises.. One was 16.99 with all the hookups, two controllers, and five games (mostly bleh games), and then I found another the next day system only with a controller and the hookups for 3.99.. Then today I sold it to one of my friends for $20 and he was really happy about it so I don't feel bad! And my other friends gave me his Super Mario RPG for $20 so I guess it all equaled out

I picked up a Super Scope 6 complete with receiver, game, and eyepiece at Goodwill last week for $5.99

In the Portland area, they have Goodwill "outlets" where they shovel stuff out in bins and you purchase items by the pound. Some of my best deals have been finding things like copies of Zelda 64 in the bin and purchasing it for $0.89 a pound. (So about 10 to 20 cents per cartridge)

I must be the only one whose goodwill carries 0 video games. All I see are video tapes and music cds.

I've been to about 20 Goodwills, and they've all had video games. Some have it by the front by the cash registers, where the jewellery are kept. At some, they are kept by the books. Some others are kept with the movies. Some are kept with the CDs, and mix in there.

Are these deals found in the Goodwill, Army, or Thrift?
The reason I'm asking because I notice a new store "Thrift Store" open in my area. There is also a Goodwill store a few blocks away. Are these companies owe by the same company? (Kinda like HomeGoods,TJMaxx or Footlocker,FootAction )
I will probably go look at the new thrift store, but couldnt never find any great deals.

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